Trials of a Hero
by Tanddoris
Summary: The Hero of Fereldan's adventures did not begin as an adult. The loss of her parents as well as a new found friendship shaped her into the person that saved Fereldan. Rated M for later chapters...just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Starting life in a new place is always a challenge. I had moved around my entire life to avoid the Templars, always without warning, never with a single goodbye from my "friends." I was thirteen years old when the Templars brought me to the Circle and had shown signs of magic since I was five. I don't remember much of my life before that. The day my magic changed my life is a day I can never forget, though. I was lost in the market and crying for my mother. No one was paying any attention, and there was a lot of noise. All of a sudden, everyone but my mother, who was just on the other side of the table, fell backwards. After that, my mother picked me up and we ran, the cries for the Templars dying in the distance. We have been running ever since, never staying in a village for more than a few months. It wasn't really my fault nor was it my mother's. I was a small child and she was a single parent. It was amazing that I wasn't captured before. Apparently, the Templars had been following the trail of a young apostate for many years, using descriptions of my mother and myself to find us.

My mother let out a low string of curses as they approached our shack. I had only heard my mother speak like that a few times in my short life and it made me more frightened than I already was. I felt my magic rising in me, which frightened me even more.

"By order of the Chantry, I order you to open up!"

Just minutes before, we had been eating a modest breakfast of day old bread and berries, laughing about the reading assignment she had given me the day before. I was always amazed at how beautiful she was. And envious. I always wished I could have inherited her beauty instead of my father's treacherous face. I hated how every time I looked in a looking glass, I saw the man that sent my mother and me into hiding. The man who would have killed his five year old daughter had we stayed for even a few minutes after the incident in the market. I hated him all the more for cursing me with his looks. My wavy, dark red hair, wide eyes and tall stature were all from him. All I saw of my mother was the color of my eyes. They are the color of grass after it rains. My mother was the opposite of me. She had long, straight golden hair, almond eyes and a petite frame. I could already tell I was not going to be thin like her. My breasts and hips had just begun to develop and they were nearly the size of hers'.

She looked at me and forced a smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling from eight years of living on the run. "I love you, Maggie. No matter what happens, never forget that. Now, I need you to hide in the cellar. Can you do that for me?"

"What about you? You should hide, too." I jumped from the sound of something hitting our door.

She shook her head and took me into her arms. "My love. You must trust me. Do not make a sound until you are sure the Templars are gone. Then you must pack up our gold, some food and leave. You are a beautiful, strong young woman." Tears filled her eyes.

"Open up, NOW!"

"Go, now! I love you so much." She kissed the top of my head and pushed me into the cellar, closing the door behind me.

I was shaking as I heard our front door open. "Yes?" my mother's sweet voice traveled to the cellar where I was hiding near a sack of carrots.

"Where is the apostate?" A man's voice growled.

"Apostate? There are no mages here, ser."

Then I heard the sound of metal swish through the air and my mother's sharp intake of breath. What was happening? I didn't think I could stand it.

"The punishment for harboring an apostate is death. If you present her to us, your punishment will be far less severe."

I couldn't let my mother die. It wasn't her fault I was born this way. I tried to come up with a plan, but nothing came to mind. I didn't know how to control my magic, yet and didn't want to hurt my mother on accident. As I was thinking up a plan, I heard a soft thump then footsteps close to the cellar door. I was frozen with terror. I knew they weren't my mother's. These were too heavy and they grated slightly against the wooden floor we had just put in. I couldn't breathe. I wished I could stop my heart from pounding, sure that the Templars could hear it. I tried to draw on my magic. The door opened and three Templars rushed towards me. The next thing I knew, two of the three were frozen. Literally. The third one sneered and hit me with something that caused me to become weak and fall over. The other two unfroze and I was put into shackles and led out of the cellar. I saw my mother lying on the floor and tried to run to her. I was hit with the same thing as before.

"Leave her be. You don't want your dear mother's house to accidently catch fire with her inside, do you? I thought not." He turned to one of the other Templars. "Have your fun with the mother. When you are finished, take her to the dungeons. We will bring the apostate to The Circle."

It was a long journey to The Circle; I lost track of how many days. I longed for my mother. I was given tiny rations of food that I washed down with tiny amounts of water. I didn't understand what was happening or where I was going. I don't even know if my mother really knew about The Circle. All she knew is there was a sort of prison for mages, and she tried to keep me out of it no matter the cost to her.

So, I cried out all of my tears, earning myself several slaps and smites. By the time we arrived at The Circle, I felt as though I was a giant bruise. All I wanted was my mother. The Knight-Commander was the kindest Templar I had ever met. The first thing I remember when we entered the tower is the look of disapproval at me captors. He looked at my bruises and said something about not abusing their duty to The Maker. By this point, I could hardly stand on my feet. I swayed and the Knight-Commander caught me, calling for someone to find a person named Wynne. Then everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything smelled clean. Why could I smell clean? I should be smelling dirt. There's no way mother could have cleaned the house well enough to smell clean.

"Mother?" I croaked, trying to open my eyes against a blinding light and a killer headache. I moaned. Where was my mother?

"You are alright, dear."

I bolted up and tried to scramble out of bed. What was going on? Whose voice was this? My eyes took a few seconds to adjust. I realized I wasn't at home.

"Mother?" I screamed. I was terrified. Where was I? More importantly, where was my mother?

"You don't need to be frightened," the same soft voice said, "you are at the Circle of Magi. I am Enchanter Wynne's assistant." She looked kind, which I found as odd, since we were at The Circle. She had soft brown eyes, wavy brown hair and a full set of lips. She was smiling at me. I was so confused and even more terrified.

"I must go fetch Enchanter Wynne. She would like to know that you are awake."

I looked around. It didn't look like a prison. As I scanned the stone walls, lined with tapestries, it all came back to me, like a dream. I screamed and ran for the nearest door, only to run into a fierce looking woman, who silenced me with a look. I stood there trembling, realizing I was only in my smallclothes. Her assistant came over to me to guide me back to the cot. She whispered something in my ear, but I couldn't hear because of the blood pumping in my ears. I sat on the bed and the fierce woman came over to me. Her face softened as she gave me a slight smile.

"You do not need be afraid, child. The worst part is behind you. I have healed your wounds and the ones that did this are long gone. You should stay in here for one more day, then I will send one of my students to show you around." She began walking away, when she turned around and smiled. "Welcome to The Circle, child." With that, she briskly left the room.

Her assistant gave me a bowl of stew. "Eat. It will bring back your strength." And I was left alone.

The stew smelled amazing and I felt as if I had not eaten in days, which was probably true. I took a few bites before I remembered my mother. The stew suddenly turned my stomach and I could not eat anymore. I let grief consume me. A few hours later, the assistant came back in and said something else to me that I did not hear. She looked worried. I didn't care, so I fell asleep and had horrid dreams. The Enchanter tried to rouse me, but I stubbornly kept my eyes shut. Food was brought to me a few more times, but I never ate.

Finally, the Enchanter came back and said something I thought was cold. I was angry because she wanted her student to show me around that day. I curled up in a ball and before I knew it, I was being lifted and set into a hot bath. All at once, my muscles relaxed and I wept. I wept for my mother who was in prison or worse, I wept for my cat, which was left in our small hut and I wept for myself. I was all alone.

During my breakdown, Wynne and her assistant stood on the other side of the room, patiently. After a while, once I had calmed down a bit, a servant began washing me. I had never had help bathing, but I don't know if I could have done it on my own. Once I was clean, I was wrapped in soft towels and presented with my "Circle robes". Again, I was given a bowl of stew, which I ate ravenously.

The Enchanter, Wynne, seemed pleased with me, so she left me alone. I was beginning to sink back into my depression when the door opened. I didn't care who it was. All I wanted to do was sleep.

I felt someone sit on the end of my bed. I really didn't care who it was, I just wanted to sleep. I turned over to tell the intruder this. Before I could get the words out of my mouth, a boy a couple of years older than me was staring at me with a look of understanding in his eyes. He had a kind face that was easy to look at, straw colored hair and the most beautiful honey eyes I had ever seen. I stuttered and more out of embarrassment than the desire to fall asleep, I rolled back over, my cheeks burning. He was very good looking and he saw me at my worst. Well, I guess my worst was the day before, but this was a close second.

Just as I had laid my head down for the second time, Wynne entered the room.

"You will not be rude, Miss Amell. You have bathed and eaten. When I left the room, you were fine. Now, go with Anders."

I flushed again. This woman was terrifying. I glanced over at the boy she called Anders, but he didn't look like I was anything but normal. In fact, he had the same look of understanding. I sighed and got out of bed. He reached for my hand and led me out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I always thought it was weird that Anders and a Mage Warden did not meet in the Circle. Please R/R!_

"She's really not that bad, you know." I looked up at him with confusion. "Wynne. She is just strict, but she is very kind, once you get to know her." I attempted a smile. I really did not want to talk to anyone, especially not this attractive boy that was holding on to my hand. "What is your name? I can't call you Miss Amell." He looked at me with a slight grin that made me feel as though I had no choice but to answer him.

"Marguerite. But call me Maggie, that's what my mother calls me." All the pain this boy made me forget came back immediately. My eyes stung with the tears that were threatening to spill. I wanted to run away from this boy that made me say things I didn't want people to know, but he just squeezed my hand harder. I could not do this. I wished I had not eaten that stew. I ducked into the washroom the boy had just shown me and emptied the contents of my stomach.

I stayed in there for about half an hour, until I was pretty sure the kind boy had left. When I emerged, he was sitting against the wall reading a book. He smiled at me, honey eyes full of compassion and warmth.

"It's nice to meet you, Maggie. You can call me Anders." I don't know how he seemed to know that I did not want to talk about what happened, but he pretended it never happened. Smiling, he grabbed my hand again and continued the tour of my new "home."

"This is the library! I love it here!" and he proceeded to tell me all the different sections of books, spending extra time talking about his favorite sections. For some reason I felt comfortable with him, and I hoped that he would remain my friend.

"I was brought here when I was twelve. Most of the mages here do not understand why I hate living in this tower so much. Unlike most of the people here, I remember my family and how much it hurt to leave."

He seemed so happy. He hates it here? He also knew his family?

"How long have you been here?" I tried to keep the curiosity out of my voice.

He smiled. "Almost three years. It's not all bad here. Just different. Lonely." A small frown appeared on his face. I didn't want to see Anders sad, but I did not know what to say to cheer him up. "Here are the dormitories. Mine is right here. Yours is the next door down." He was leaving already? He smirked. "I'll show you."

He led me to a bunk just inside the door and sat down. "Here is your bed." He bounced on it and I giggled. He looked funny! "You belongings should already be here. I'll go ask Wynne if she knows what happened to them."

I looked down to hide my wet eyes. "I don't have any belongings." I mumbled, uncomfortable. _Great, now he thinks I'm a freak._ He pulled me down to sit by him. He put both arms around me and I cried, again.

I don't know how long I cried before I fell asleep, but when I awoke, Anders was still with me. I almost cried for the third time in a day, when I noticed how dark it was. I was a little frightened, so I snuggled closer to Anders and tried to fall back asleep.

Once it was light out, Anders woke me up. "It's time for breakfast. After we eat, we can talk to Wynne about getting you some things." He smiled and grabbed my hand, again and led me to the meal hall. On the way there, I was startled by a person with a disturbing look on his face. It was as if he felt nothing. I pulled closer to Anders when I realized the man was walking towards me.

"First Enchanter Irving would like to see you after you eat." He looked at me with lifeless eyes and spoke with the most dreadful monotone voice. He frightened me. As he was walking away, Anders turned to me.

"That's Owain. He's a tranquil."

"A what?"

"Tranquil. Sometimes, The Templars" I shuddered when he said that word, which did not go unnoticed by Anders, "decide that a mage is susceptible to demonic possession, so they remove their connection to The Fade. The result is a Tranquil. They feel nothing. No pain, no fear, no joy. It's terrifying and wrong."

"The Fade?"

"It's where you go where you dream. You'll learn more about it when you begin your classes. Come on, let's get some food."

I followed him, still thinking about Owain and the Tranquil. The thought of them made me shiver. Anders noticed, but didn't say anything.

After eating, Anders showed me to the First Enchanter's office.

"You may return to your dormitory, Anders. I will have Mary show Marguerite back to her room." I looked between Anders and the First Enchanter, panic evident in my eyes. "Do not worry; Mary is a mage, not a Templar." That only took a small amount of fear away.

"It's alright, Maggie. I'll meet you in your dormitory for lunch." Before I could respond, Anders left and I felt alone, again.

"Please, sit. I am called First Enchanter Irving. I must apologize for the manner in which you were brought here. Some of the Templars seem to forget that mages are people, too. I want you to make yourself comfortable, here. It is your new home, and it will be many years before you are allowed to leave. Enchanter Wynne has chosen a good guide for you. I don't know if Anders told you, but he was also brought to The Circle at an older age." I nodded. "He will be a good friend to have. Tomorrow you will begin classes. You will study with the younger apprentices until you learn how to control your magic. Once you do, you may take some of your classes with Anders. Once we learn what your strengths are, you will take more focused classes."

"M-my strengths?"

He smiled at me, and I realized he would have been a good father to me. The thought made me a little sad, but slightly hopeful that I might have something like a family.

"There are four schools of magic: spirit, creation, entropy and primal. You will learn more about them tomorrow when you begin classes." He looked at me with a similar look Anders gave me. There was about a minute of silence before the First Enchanter dismissed me. An elf a few years older than me came to my side. I assumed she was Mary.

"Oh, and Maggie. Please be careful around The Templars. Some of them believe the same as the ones that brought you here." He turned and sat at his desk.

Mary was quiet as she walked me to my dormitory and was eager to leave once we arrived. I wasn't even able to thank her. My day had just begun and all I wanted to do was sleep. I sensed a pattern in the making. I sighed and laid down.

The next day went by in a blur. There was simply too much material. I did not like magic. I missed the daggers that my mother trained me with. She had no magical ability and wanted me to be able to defend myself, if necessary. Not that her training did me any good. I froze when faced with my first real confrontation. I had a feeling The Templars would frown on a mage practicing with weapons, so I decided to craft a pair of daggers out of wood. I would practice my form in the garden when nobody was around. Whenever I was caught, I would say something along the lines of, "I was reading in the library and thought it would be fun!" It would cause the Templar to snort and walk away. It was kind of funny.

As it turned out, I liked magic more than I thought. Once I understood how to control it, it was quite fun. I began thinking about how I could combine it with my "daggers."

Two months had passed since my arrival at The Circle and I was allowed to join Anders in his classes. We had grown closer as friends, spending every spare moment together. I mean, I spent every spare moment with him. It took three weeks to realize why he wanted to spend "alone time" with some of the other apprentices, especially since they never spent time together in front of anyone. I was sulking in my dormitory when my bunkmate, Daniela, asked me what was wrong. I didn't want to answer her, so I tried to play it off like I was just tired. She jumped onto my bed.

"You fucking liar!" I flinched. I still didn't understand the amount of swearing used by the apprentice. I always thought swearing was meant to hurt someone. But she was smiling. "It's about Anders, isn't it?" My face betrayed me. "It is! I knew it! You want to be fucking him, not watching him screw everyone else! Not that I blame you at all. He is quite amazing!" She giggled, and I couldn't figure out why. Of course he was amazing. He was my best friend.

I was extremely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Um, you do know Anders is with Charlene, right now, right?"

I flushed. "He doesn't seem to want to spend time with me…I've never even seen him with her."

"Holy shit! Are you a virgin?" Her eyes were huge and questioning.

My face was on fire. Of course I was a virgin. I was only thirteen and had never had much contact with people my own age.

Her voice lowered lightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. It's just that most people your age have already… well. Um, you do know what sex is, right?"

"O-of course I do," she gave me a stern look, "don't. Not really. My mother never had the chance to talk about it with me. Please don't tell anyone!"

"I won't tell anyone. Well, maybe just Io, but that's just so we can help you." I didn't know what I needed help with, but I accepted. "I guess you'd understand what Anders is doing better if you knew what sex is..."

"He's what? He's having sex with all those people?" then it clicked, "you?"

"Well, yeah. I thought you didn't know what sex is?"

"I know enough."I pouted because I felt like an idiot. How did I not put two and two together? I was intelligent. I was also slightly hurt that Anders did not see me in that way.

"Um, I'll see you later, Maggie. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone but Io your secret." She left the room before I could protest. Because I did not want to cry again, I went out to practice with my "daggers." I had been practicing for nearly an hour when I felt someone watching me. I sighed and prepared to give my "I was reading a book" speech. I turned around to see Anders, and for once I was not happy to see him. I was still mortified about my earlier conversation with Daniela and could not risk it showing on my face.

"What are you doing?" He was smiling. Of course he was smiling.

My face turned crimson. "I was, um, practicing my, um daggers?" why did I say it like a question?

"Where did you learn that?" The curiosity was evident in his eyes.

"My mother wanted me to be able to defend myself, just in case…not that it did any good." _Curse you, Anders_. Instead of laughing at me, or telling me it was my fault my mother was in prison, or worse, he hugged me tight. It was at that moment I realized I didn't care what he did in his free time. He was my very best friend and I did not want to lose him. I hugged him back. We eventually made it back inside the tower and he led me to my bunk. I caught the wink he gave to my bunkmate and giggled into my hand.

"See you in the morning, Maggie."

I jumped as a face appeared above my bed.

"It's just me, you silly twit!" Why did everyone insist on calling me these names? "So…everything's alright with Anders?" She lowered her voice so only I could hear her. "Did you learn what sex is?" Her wide eyes demanded a reply.

"Why would Anders tell me what sex is? I didn't even want you to know."

"Holy shit. You really did live a sheltered life before you came here." She rolled her eyes and disappeared.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Combo of getting married and a severe case of writer's block. Please review...it will keep me going :) Thanks!

My first year at The Circle passed fairly quickly. I made friends with some of the people in my dormitory and received "the talk" from Daniela and Io, which was, needless to say, filled with giggles from my friends and a beet red face from me. I excelled in my classes, especially those dealing with the elements. I did not do as well as others in my healing classes. I really didn't see any need in them, seeing as we were not allowed to leave the tower. When I mentioned this to Enchanter Wynne, she gave me a stern look and said, "You never know when will be a war. The king always needs mages for his army, especially healers." I turned bright red and mumbled something about Anders being a good enough healer for the both of us. Of course, I was ignored.

The only things I heard come out of the apprentices (apart from Anders') mouths those first few months were about sex, the quality of the food and, of course, profanity. I was bored most of the time. These things did not interest me...well, sex was intriguing, but I was nowhere as pretty as my dorm mates and I was so shy around boys, so I pushed those thoughts away.

Anders, my best friend, did not talk about any of that with me. Sometimes, he would even rescue me from unwanted conversations. It didn't even bother me anymore that he left me to be with other girls. I kind of understood and I knew it was nothing personal.

After a while, I began hearing whisperings about the harrowing. To be honest, I was terrified that anyone I knew would have to go through it. I knew that it would be years before any of my friends had their harrowing, but the fact that they might come back made me sick. When I asked Dani if she felt the same way, she said, "Of course, I'm scared, but that's not for years." Then she proceeded to fill me in on the latest Circle gossip, which , to be honest, was not very interesting. It was always about sex or some apprentice burning off Enchanter Uldred's eyebrows or something. I always listened, though...or, at least, pretended to listen. Luckily, Anders came to save me, again. I don't know if he could see it on my face, but he had excellent timing. Dani gave a slight smirk (she had this sneaking suspicion that I wanted to "fuck him badly." Her words.) and turned away.

"Thanks...again, Anders. Did you know that you have impeccable timing?"

He smiled, "Of course. Anything for my second favorite mage."

"Who's your first favorite mage?"

"Myself, of course!" I laughed. "Since I saved you from the horrors of Circle gossip, would you please do me a favor?" He sounded serious and I didn't want to know what he needed.

"What do you need?"

"Well, there's this girl that I really like, but either she doesn't know or doesn't care that I feel this way about her." My heart skipped a beat. Could he be talking about me? How did he not know that he was my favorite person in the world? That I hurt when he wasn't there? That he was the most beautiful person I had ever seen?

I swallowed. "Go on."

"Well, I was wondering if you would talk to her for me? Maybe tell me what you think she would like."

I took a deep breath, "Do I know her?"

"Quite well, actually." My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't believe it. I tried not to let my joy show on my face.

"Who?" I breathed.

He leaned in close to whisper in my ear. "Dani."

Of course it was Dani. She was so beautiful, with her slightly bronze skin, sparkling sapphire blue eyes and long black hair that was always shiny. And she was a year older than me. Damnit, why did it have to be her? There are so many other girls and boys in The Circle, did he have to choose my bunkmate? One of my few friends? I knew that I shouldn't be feeling hurt and betrayed, but I wanted to pull Daniela's beautiful hair out.

"I'll help you." I murmured and attempted to leave, but he pulled me into a big hug and whispered, "thank you so much. You're the best friend anyone could ever hope for."

"I'm going to go talk to Dani. See you later, Anders." I held back my tears as I raced to my dorm, hoping that Dani was not there. Thankfully, she wasn't, so I grabbed my daggers from under my bed and headed outside.

I focused all of my energy and emotion on the dummy I had constructed with the help of a couple of Templars who actually helped me train. When I accidentally broke the head off my dummy, Ser Thom approached me and asked if I would like to spar.

"Whatever it is that you are upset about, it will help to fight a real person instead of a dummy. Nice kick, by the way." I cracked a small smile.

"That would be welcome, thank you."

I don't know how long we sparred, but he seemed to content to continue until I was feeling better. "Maybe we should head in to get some food and we can come back out later." I shrugged and turned back to the headless dummy. "You at least need a water break." I really was thirsty, so I agreed and we took a five minute break. I hadn't realized how low in the sky the sun was. We sat in silence until Ser Thom motioned that he was ready to continue. I grabbed my daggers and we continued where we had left off. Ser Thom was a very good swordsman who fought with a sword and shield. He always made sure that he fought at one or two levels above me, so I could improve. He almost always won, but I could tell I was getting better. After what must have been many more hours of sparring, Ser James came over to tell us it was way past curfew.

"I apoligize, Miss Maggie, but we must get you back to your dormatory before the Knight Commander tells us you can no longer train with us."

I looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "I appreciate you time and help. Thank you, Ser Thom." He escorted me back to my dormatory and I collapsed on my bed. I was so grateful for the kind Templars in the tower. I was sure that I would not have survived my first year without them. Ser Thom did not even mention the tears that I had shed that night. Anders did not see them the way I did. He saw all Templars as evil, and...damnit. I had finally rid him from my thoughts and here he comes, sneaking back in. How could I be so stupid? Of course he doesn't feel anything for me. I was younger and not beautiful like my friends. I knew it shouldn't bother me, but it hurt so badly. I quietly cried myself to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

"...up! Quickly! Maggie!" I groaned and attempted to roll over, only to realize that Dani was holding my shoulders.

"Dani, let go. I want to sleep."

"Oh, no, you don't. Classes start in half an hour and, to be honest, you stink."

"I'm not going. I don't feel well."

"You know they'll just send Wynne up here and she'll bust your ass for faking." I groaned. I couldn't have been asleep for more than three hours. I decided I might as well get up and change into something more comfortable and less rank. I really needed to clean the clothes I wore for sparring.

"Come on. There's a bath made up for you." I rolled out of bed, but she seemed to have read my mind and lead me straight to the bathing room. I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed and threw some clean robes at my face.

I sunk myself into the hot water and had to admit that I already felt better. My sore muscles from the night before were loosening up. I debated with myself about just falling asleep there, but decided I didn't want Wynne to yell at me. She could be scary when she wanted to be and I tried to stay off of her bad side as much as possible. I slowly began washing my hair and body with the milk and honey soap Io had given me. I was working on getting the tangles out of my hair when Dani entered the room and clucked her tongue. I turned beat red.

"Dani! Why don't you ever knock?" I sunk my body into the water.

She almost laughed. "It's not like I'd be seeing something that I haven't seen a million times before. Now, It's time to get out."

"Fine. Turn around." I waited, but she didn't move."

"Just get out of the fucking bath, Maggie. We're going to be late." I flushed again and grabbed the sheet she was holding. I quickly dried myself off as she handed me my small clothes and robes. She twisted my wet hair up and out of my face, we grabbed our things and ran out the door.

"See? Isn't this better? You don't smell like shit anymore! You smell very nice." She said as we were running.

"Yeah. Sure." We arrived in class a minute late, Dani was panting and I was scowling. Since I had been practicing with my daggers everyday, running through the tower didn't affect me like the other apprentices. Enchanter Uldred glared at us for disrupting his lecture as we took our seats. I always had trouble paying attention to him, but today, it was even worse than normal. I had been in class for five minutes when I remembered why I thought it would be a good idea to practice so late the night before. I was trying to think of the best way to talk to Dani about it. I knew she would go for him. She had mentioned before how attractive she thought he was. I tried not to wallow in my misery by "listening" to Uldred.

All of a sudden, I hear an explosion and smell smoke inches away from my desk. I opened my eyes to see Uldred glaring at me. I guess I had fallen asleep in his class and before I could help myself, I said, "Andraste's tits! What the fuck did you do that for?" I could hear Dani's intake of breath and not only because I never swore, but because Uldred's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"What did you say, apprentice?" He growled.

I looked down. "Well, you could have seriously hurt me."

"Then you shouldn't have fallen asleep in my class."

I glared at him. "Then you shouldn't have such a boring voice! It's a wonder I learn anything at all in here!" I don't know if it was the sleep deprivation, my irritation at Anders, or my near-death experience, but no one said anything like that to Enchanter Uldred. In fact, very few people spoke to him at all. "I guess being blown to pieces by a fireball would be preferable to dying from boredom." I heard a few giggles from my classmates and Uldred's face was turning purple, but I couldn't stop. "Do you do that on purpose? Because you are afraid if your students learn anything, we will be better than you?" Low blow, I know, but I was pissed. "If-" My words were cut off by a loud slap and a stinging sensation in my face. He grabbed my upper arm and dragged me out of the room to the nearest Templar.

"Take her to the dungeon for the day. I will speak with the First Enchanter later." Unfortunately, this was not a Templar I was familiar with. He seemed way too happy to carry out Uldred's orders. He sneered and led me down. The Templar didn't realize that it was time for the first class of the day to be over, so he was surprised when apprentices began to flood the hallway. He gripped my arm tighter and his other hand hovered above his sword.

"Where are you taking her?" Anyone but him. The last thing I wanted is for Anders to see me.

"None of your concern, mage. Now, get out of my way."

"Anders, just go, please."

"Quiet, you."

"Don't be an ass, Templar." What was wrong with me today? I knew better. Don't bait the Templars.

The Templar's face turned red as he forcefully dragged me to the dungeons. He threw me in a cell.

"I haven't eaten yet, today. Hello? Mean Templar who brought me down here? I'm really hungry and kind of thirsty." I sighed and laid down and realized I was not alone.

"Meow"

The cutest cat I had ever seen walked out of the shadows. He was cream colored with some orangish-brown markings around his eyes and middle. It looked like he walked with a limp then I realized his front legs were shorter than the back ones.

"Aren't you the cutest thing? Here, kitty!" He ran over and presented his belly. "Do you have a name? No? Hmm, how about, Mr. Wiggums?" Yep, he definitely was a Wiggums. "I can't wait for you to meet Anders. He-" Talking about him hurt. I knew I was probably being an irrational teenager, but I couldn't help it. He was my best friend, but more than just that. "Anyway, Mr. Wiggums, would you like to come visit me when I get out of here? I would ask if you wanted to live in my room, but pets aren't allowed and I can't have them find you and kick you out." Somehow animals could always understand me. I don't know how, but they could, at least to a point.

I yawned. "Time to sleep, Mr. Wiggums?" He curled up in a ball by my neck and we slept until I heard angry voices coming down the stairs.

"You need to remind your Templars that we are the only two that can send apprentices to the dungeons." It couldn't already be night. I figured Anders told the First Enchanter where I was taken.

"And you need to remind your teachers."

Ser Thom's face appeared at my cell door, followed by the First Enchanter's and Knight-Commander's. "Miss Maggie. Thank the Maker you are alright!" He unlocked my door and I tried to stand, but failed. I usually had a large breakfast the morning after sparring and ate every couple of hours after that, so I was dizzy from hunger and slight dehydration. Ser Thom rushed over to me. "Miss Maggie, did you not break your fast this morning? You know better than that. Your body needs the food after that much training. And I see that you were not given any food since you were brought in?" I had never seen him look so much like a father as he did at that moment.

"I'm fine, Ser Thom, honest. I'll eat when I get upstairs. You are letting me out, right?"

First Enchanter Irving answered, "Yes, child. We are letting you out. Your offence was not near grave enough to put you in here." I could have sworn I saw a slight smirk before he turned and left, followed by the Knight-Commander.

Ser Thom helped me to stand long enough for the dizzyness to go away. He tried to insist on helping me all the way upstairs, but I didn't want anyone to see him helping me walk. It would fuel too many rumors about the Templars and the dungeons. He finally allowed me to walk on my own, but insisted on holding my arm so I would not fall. I was grateful, because I had not eaten since noon the day before and I was a little clumsy at the moment. Instead of taking me to my dorm, he lead me to the First Enchanter's office. This was not a conversation I wanted to have.

"Apprentice Maggie. Please, come in." He gestured for me to sit in the chair across from his desk and I heard the door close. "First off," his bushy grey eyebrows pulled together and his lips turned to a frown, "You do not speak that way with your teachers. I don't care if their lessons do put everyone to sleep. Even so, Enchanter Uldred should not have put you in the dungeons. In this last year, you have proven to be an exemplary student without any discipline problems." He leaned forward with a look of concern on his face, "What happened, Maggie?"

"He threw a fireball at my head, sir." I answered quietly.

"He what?"

I amended before he exploded, "Well, a couple of inches to the right. I was asleep, you see. I wasn't hurt at all, just startled." I was rambling, and I knew it. I didn't want to be in more trouble with Uldred than I already was.

"I will have a talk with Enchanter Uldred, but from now on, you need to be very careful in his classes. Make sure you get plenty of sleep at night." He gave me a knowing look. Could he have known that I stayed out all night? "Just remember, the only two that have the authority to hand out harsh punishments are the Knight-Commander and myself. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, First Enchanter."

"Apprentice. Make sure to say thank you to your friend, Anders."

"For what, sir?"

"Ask him. I believe you will run into him sooner rather than later." I grimaced, slightly blaming him for my day."

I opened the door, leaving the office and was promptly swept up into the biggest hug I had ever received. Even though I couldn't see anything, I knew it was Anders because of the faint smell of sandalwood and elfroot, an intoxicating combination. I forgot all of my anger and frustration and allowed myself to melt into his arms. This was my best and closest friend. There was no reason I should ever be this upset with him.

"I was so worried. I'm so sorry it took me so long to get to the First Enchanter."

"You brought the First Enchanter to me?" He broke the hug, but grabbed my hand and walked me to our corner of the library.

"Well, sort of. I was running to his office and I accidently ran into a Templar who said I was 'acting suspicious.' I tried to explain to his what had happened, but he took me to some room on the Templar's floor and locked me in. I was sick with worry. I did not know what you had done, but I figured it wasn't bad enough to land you in the dungeons. So, I yelled and yelled for hours until the Knight-Commander, himself came in to shut me up. I quickly told him what happened and he ordered me to be released. I'm assuming, ran to the First Enchanter's office, next. As I was leaving the room, I saw Ser Thom and told him what was going on and he raced after Greagoir. And, I think you know the rest."

"Thank you."

He gave me his most beautiful and mischievious smile. "So, what did you do?"

"Basically, I told Uldred his voice puts everybody to sleep..."

"Why would you say that? Something must have provoked you." He smirked, knowing I wasn't telling his the whole story. It didn't matter, I knew he would get it from someone else, anyway. It would probably be the center of Circle gossip for at least a week.

"Well, I fell asleep and he threw a fireball close to my head." Anders was turning red, so I quickly added, "not to hurt me, just to wake me up. Don't worry, Irving's going to take care of it. Ooh! I almost forgot to tell you, I met a cat!"

"Really?" I could tell he wasn't going to let it go for long, but at least he allowed me to change the subject.

"He's the cutest thing! He's cream colored with orangish-brown markings and the cutest short front legs."

"He sounds adorable!"

"He's going to visit, sometime. I can't wait for you to meet him!" I knew Anders didn't completely believe that animals understood me, but that was ok. It was a little odd.

"What's his name?"

"Mr. Wiggums!"

"Huh?"


End file.
